Singeing machine and method



Jan. 10, 1961 c, c, COLLINS ETAL 2,967,326

SINGEING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed Jan. 31, 1957 7/ I 8 A i 1 &\\\\

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W F 6.5 BY 64%; 2 2 3523? flmwomz/ United States Patent SINGEING MACHINE AND METHOD Cameron C. Collins, Bainbridge, and Warren E. Kishbaugh, Unadilla, N.Y., assignors to The Bendix Corporatlon, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 31, 1957, Ser. No. 637,533

15 Claims. (Cl. 181) This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for removing flash from articles, and more particularly relates to the removal of flash from the interior of passages of articles made of material which is readily combustible and/or otherwise decomposable at elevated temperature.

The invention has among its objects the provision of a novel method of removing flash from articles, particularly from articles made of material which is combustible or otherwise decomposable by heat.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved method of removing flash interiorly of passages through articles of the character indicated.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of a method for the removal of flash from a flange projecting generally radially inwardly of a passage through an article made of a material which is combustible or otherwise decomposable by heat.

Yet another object of the invention resides in the provision of novel apparatus for carrying out the above indicated methods of removing flash from articles, particularly for removing flash located in one or more passages through such articles.

The above and further objects and novel features of the present invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein like characters refer to like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view partially in side elevation and partially in longitudinal section through an article with which the method of the present invention may advantageously be carried out, portions of passage-forming cores, shown partially in elevation and partially in longitudinal section, being shown in one of the passages through the article.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in longitudinal section through the article of Fig. 1, the view showing a portion of the article at which flash is prone to occur.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in transverse section through the portion of the article shown in Fig. 2, the section being taken generally along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a somewhat schematic view in perspective of apparatus by which the method of the invention may be carried out, portions of the apparatus being broken away.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged somewhat schematic view in section through the article being treated in accordance with the invention by the apparatus of Fig. 4, such article being shown positioned at a first working station of the apparatus; and

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the article positioned at a second working station of the apparatus.

The flash-removing method and apparatus of the invention are illustrated herein in connection with a rubber or rubber-like insert, generally designated 10, which is used, for example, as a multiple wire-receiving grommet employed in an electrical connector. Insert 10 has a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel passages 11 therethrough, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4. To provide a tight seal with the wires (not shown) which extend through passages 11, insert 10 is provided with a plurality of similar shallow inwardly extending flanges 12 posi tioned within the passages 11 intermediate the ends thereof. Such flanges are readily deformable to allow the insert substantially sealingly to receive wires having outer diameters varying within an appreciable dimensional range.

Insert 10 is conventionally molded in a two-part mold (not shown) provided with elongated core members 13 and 18 to form passages 11 having flanges 12 therein. Core member 13, which forms portion 14 of passage 11, has a smaller diameter inner end portion 23 which defines the opening through flange 12. The opposite end portions 15 of passages 11, which lie coaxial of portion 14, are formed by short sleeve-like cores 18 within which the reduced diameter ends 23 of the first cores 13 are received.

Because inserts 16 are molded under pressure and the two separable core members 13 and 18 employed to form each passage 11 cannot practically be sealed to each other against the high plastic material molding pressures employed, usually some leakage of the plastic material occurs through the joint between the two core members. As a result, when the core members are separated, there are usually a number of generally inwardly directed whiskers or string-like projections 16, hereinafter termed flash, adhering to the edge of flange 12 at the inner end of portion 15 of passage 11. Such flash is ob.- jectionable, since it tends to become tangled with the insulation on the wires passing through the flange, thereby preventing the free insertion of wires in passages 11. Further, such flash tends to make the openings through the various flanges 12 non-uniform, and to prevent the desired substantial sealing between the flanges and the respective wires extending through the passages.

The present invention provides a method of and an apparatus for quickly and easily removing flash 16 from each of flanges 12 in the passages 11 through the article. Such removal of the flash 16 is accomplished, first, by subjecting the flash to a temperature high enough to oxidize and/or partially decompose it, following which the charred and at least partially decomposed flash is removed from the article, preferably by a blast of gas.

In the embodiment of the invention shown the flash is heated to oxidizing and/or decomposition temperature by being subjected to' a stream of hot gas, the portion of the side wall of each passage 11 which would otherwise be most intensely heated by the gas being shielded therefrom. In such embodiment, removal of the resulting charred or partially decomposed flash is accomplished by a blast of cool gas, which both carries away the charred flash and cools the shield as well as the inner surface of the article which was previously exposed to the hot gas.

To illustrate the method and the apparatus of the invention, there is shown somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 4, an apparatus by which the method may conveniently be carried out. Such apparatus, generally designated 17, has a table-like support with an upper surface 20 to which an arm 19 is pivoted for rotation about a vertical axis, as shown. Adjacent its outer end the arm 19 carries an article-supporting fixture 28 in the form of a horizontal plate 24 carrying a plurality of vertically disposed tube-like members 25. Members 25 are so spaced and have outer diameters such that they are received in the end portions 15 of passages 11 generally coaxially thereof. Members 25 are of such height above the upper surface of plate 24, in the embodiment shown, that the upper end of each member 25 lies somewhat below the lower edge of flange 12 when the article 10 is vertically disposed on the fixture as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Each member 25 has a Wall thickness such that after emerging therefrom the hot gas impinges upon the flash, as shown in Fig. 5. Consequently, when the articlelll is mounted on the fixture 28 in the manner described, the lower end of article and the lower ends of portions of passages 11 are shielded from contact with hot gases. Consequently, such surfaces of the article 10 can not be charred or otherwise decomposed, which would be undesirable in that it would form carbon tracks along which short circuits between wires passing through the article might occur.

Article 10 is preferably mounted on the fixture 28 when the fixture is positioned at a loading station, as shown in Fig. 4. With article 10 thus mounted on the fixture, arm 19 is swung clockwise (Fig. 4) by handle 22 so that the fixture passes over the nozzle 27 of a means 26 which supplies a blast or stream of hot air through a slot 30 in surface of apparatus 17 at a first working station of such apparatus. Preferably means 26 is in the form of a so-called p0pback burner wherein the combustion takes place in the burner body so that only the products of combustion 29 issue from nozzle 27. Such pop-back burner, which is conventional, may be made in the form of a ceramic-lined metal shell which is fed with a combustible mixture of gaseous fuel and air by means not shown. A suitable burner of this type which may be employed is sold under the name Selas Superheat Burner.

Arm 1% is preferably moved across slot 30 at a controlled uniform speed, so that each article 10 is treated uniformly during production. It has been found that, with an article of the type illustrated, a travel of the article supporting fixture across the slot 30 on the order of from 60 to 100 inches per minute is satisfactory when the hot gases issuing from nozzle 27 have a temperature of 1500 to 2000 F. Such brief exposure of flash 16 to the highly heated gaseous stream 29 chars and at least partially decomposes the flash.

To complete removal of the flash from article 10, as well as to cool the tube-like shield and the wall of portion 14 of passage 11, arm 19 is swung further clockwise to bring the fixture 28 past a second station of the apparatus at which the fixture is subjected to an upwardly directed blast of relatively cool air, such as atmospheric air. Such air may be supplied by a device 31 having a fish-tail nozzle 32 aligned with slot 34 in the top 20 of the apparatus. As the fixture 28 bearing article 1t) sweeps across slot 34, each of members 25 receives an upwardly directed jet of air, as schematically shown in Fig. 6, of suflicient intensity to blow away the charred or decomposed flash, there shown as particles of ash 35. Ordinarily, with a nozzle opening such as that described below, an air pressure of from 40 to 90 lbs./ sq. in. in device 31 will be suflicient to complete removal of the flash from the article. A nozzle opening in device 31 in the form of a slot 2" long and .005" wide has proved satisfactory. Such blast of air also cools members 25, which are preferably made of metal having high heat conductivity, of which aluminum is typical. Thus, the members 25 will have been restored substantially to room temperature after the fixture 28 has passed through the second station and the treated article 10 has been removed from the fixture. In the apparatus diagrammatically shown, the fixture may be again presented to the first working station by completing clockwise rotation of arm m. It will be understood however, that the apparatus may be provided with automatic shutoff devices responsive to the angular positioning of arm 19 whereby delivery of gas from nozzles 27 and 32 is prevented except when the fixture is travelling in a clockwise direction through the appropriate working station, and that the l 'paratus may be provided with automatic means for regulating the speed at which the fixture 28 4 passes through the first and second working stations of the apparatus.

Although only one embodiment of the method of and apparatus for removing flash from articles in accordance with the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing specification, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Thus, for example, the method is applicable to removing flash from articles having a variety of shapes and adapted for a variety of different uses. This is also true of the apparatus. Various other changes may also be made, such as the specific materials which may be treated in accordance with the method, the materials of which'the apparatus may be made, the temperatures and the like suggested herein by way of example, and in the design and arrangement of the parts illustrated, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as the same may now be understood by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of removing flash from the body of an article made of heat decomposable organic material, which comprises shielding a portion of the wall of the body of the article adjacent the location of the flash while exposing the flash, generating gas heated to a temperature above the decomposition temperature of the material, directing a stream of such heated gas so as to impinge upon the shielding means, and directing said stream generally along said shielding means into contact with said flash to at least partially decompose and weaken the flash so that the thus treated flash can be readily removed by being bent with respect to the body of the article.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, comprising stopping the flow of the hot gas upon the article after a predetermined time and thereafter cooling the article.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the cooling of the article is effected by a stream of cool gas directed along the zone at which the flash was located.

4. The method of removing flash projecting inwardly of a passage in an article made of oxidizable organic material, which comprises directing a stream of oxidizing gas heated above the oxidation temperature of the article through the passage in the article to bathe the flash in such hot gaseous stream, whereby at least partially to oxidize and decompose the flash, stopping the flow of the hot gas upon the article after a predetermined time and thereafter cooling the article and removing the flash from the article by directing a stream of cool gas through the passage in the article.

5. The method of removing flash from an article made of oxidizable and heat decomposable organic material, said article having a passage therethrough with an inwardly projecting flange therein, the flash projecting from the inner edge of the flange, which comprisespositioning a tube-like member within the passage so as to shield a portion of the wall of the passage from one end of the article while exposing the flash in the path of the passage through the memben and directing a stream of oxidizing gas heated above the decomposition temperature of the article into the passage in said member in a direc- *tion from the said one end of the article so as to bathe the flash in such hot gaseous stream, whereby at least partially to decompose the flash.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, comprising stopping the flow of the hot gas upon the article after a predetermined time and removing the flash from the article by directing a stream of coal gas through the passage in the article.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the cool gas is directed into the passage in the member in the direction from said one end of the article.

8. Apparatus for removing flash from a heat decomposable article which comprises means to shield a portion of the wall of-the article adjacent the location of the flash While exposing the flash, and means to generate heated gases which impinge upon the shielding means and are directed thereby to flow toward the flash to heat the flash to its decomposition temperature.

9. Apparatus for removing flash from a heat decomposable article which comprises means to shield a portion of the wall of the article adjacent the location of the flash while exposing the flash, means to generate heated gases which impinge upon the shielding means and are directed thereby to flow toward the flash to heat the flash to its decomposition temperature, and means to remove the thus heated and at least partially decomposed flash from the article.

10. Apparatus for removing flash from an article made of heat decomposable organic material which comprises means to shield a portion of the wall of the article extending from one end of the article generally to the location of the flash, means to direct a stream of hot gases generally along the shield onto the flash so as at least partially to decompose the flash.

11. Apparatus for removing flash from an article made of oxidizable and heat decomposable material, said article having a passage therethrough with an inwardly projecting flange therein, the flash projecting from the inner edge of the flange, which comprises a tube-like member insertable within the passage to extend from one end of the article while exposing the flash in the path of the passage through the member, means for directing a stream of oxidizing gas heated above the decomposition temperature of the article into the passage in said member from the said one end of the article.

12. Apparatus for removing inwardly projecting flash from a passage through an oxidizable and heat decomposable article, comprising an article-supporting fixture having a tube-like member insertable into the passage with its inner end lying short of the flash, means for supporting the fixture for movement from a first, flashheating station to a second, flash-removing station, means at the first station for directing a stream of oxidizing gas heated to article-decomposing temperature into the tubelike member, and means at the second station for directing a stream of cool gas into the tube-like member.

13. Apparatus for removing inwardly projecting flash from a passage extending from one end of an oxidizable and heat decomposable article to the other, comprising an article-supporting fixture having a plate-like member on which one end of the article is adapted to rest, an open ended tube-like member secured to and rising from the plate-like member and insertable into the passage in the article with its inner end lying short of the flash, and means to direct gas heated above the decomposition temperature of the article against the plate-like member and into the tube-like member whereby to at least partially decompose the flash.

14. Apparatus for removing flash from a heat decomposable article which comprises means to shield a portion of the wall of the article adjacent the location of the flash while exposing the flash, means to direct heated gases along the shielding means and toward the flash to heat the flash to its decomposition temperature, and means to direct cool gas along the shielding means and against the decomposed flash while the shielding means is still associated with the article, thereby to cool the shielding means and to remove the decomposed flash from the article.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, comprising an article-supporting fixture to which the shield is attached, and means for supporting the fixture for movement from a first, flash-heating station to a second, flash-removing station.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,289,339 Brennan July 14, 1942 2,346,201 Vautier Apr. 11, 1944 2.560.855 Flanagan July 17, 1951 2,754,729 Emery July 17, 1956 

